General Usage

[Kei]

I'm right on the verge of getting myself a nice Pocket PC as a Christmas gift to myself, but I'm having a little trouble justifying the cost for me. So far, other than managing my schedule and synching with Pocket Outlook, I've got mp3 playback... I was wondering what other sorts of things you all do with your Pocket PCs?

Also, I'm curious about the functionality of the Pocket programs (Word, Excel), and how useful easy they are to use. Also, I like to jot notes down to myself in meetings or just other brainstorming things, how's the Pocket PC for stuff like that?

[Rirath]

I was wondering what other sorts of things you all do with your Pocket PCs?

Also, I'm curious about the functionality of the Pocket programs (Word, Excel), and how useful easy they are to use. Also, I like to jot notes down to myself in meetings or just other brainstorming things, how's the Pocket PC for stuff like that?

I've got to ask... have you researched PPC's much at all? Asking if a Pocket PC can jot down notes is like asking if a oven can bake. :) Of course you can easily jot down as many notes as you can possibly come up with. Pocket Word is lacking some of the big features of the Desktop edition, but is a good word processor none the less. Pocket Excel is very close to the desktop version.

Aside from music, you can watch video, play tons of games, surf webpages (live with wireless, or synced at the desktop for later viewing), write entire letters, posts, etc from pocket word, manage huge contact lists, and just about any speciality task you can think of.

Best advice, look it up and read some more posts. If you find something the Pocket PC can't do, ask and we'll tell you how to do it. I recommend you go to your local electronics store and play with one, try out Pocket Excel and such. Give it a shot.

As for costs, the lower X5 is a mere $199, and there might be a $150 X3 (slimmer, probably a feature or two less) around the corner. It's never been cheaper.

[spursdude]

Well let's see, what do I do on my Pocket PC?

I take notes, record music, tune my guitar, play tons of games, organize my entire life, listen to music, watch Smallville episodes, store and view images, read news clippings, read the Bible, look at maps, check the weather, calculate numbers...all in one convenient package.

Believe me - getting a Pocket PC is worth it, especially with all the great deals out on the market today. When I got my Audiovox Maestro in April for $300, it was the lowest price I had ever seen for a Pocket PC. Now, there are loads of lower-priced Pocket PCs (iPaq 3835, Toshibas, Audiovox, Viewsonic, Dell).

[Pony99CA]

I'm right on the verge of getting myself a nice Pocket PC as a Christmas gift to myself, but I'm having a little trouble justifying the cost for me. So far, other than managing my schedule and synching with Pocket Outlook, I've got mp3 playback... I was wondering what other sorts of things you all do with your Pocket PCs?

Games, lots of games. :-) Oh, and I also follow tech news (using C|Net via AvantGo), check my E-mail more frequently (and filter spam and viruses that might execute in my PC mail viewer -- less function can be a blessing :-)), avoid getting lost (I just used my iPAQ's GPS sleeve to drive from California to Arizona over Thanksgiving), use the various dictionaries available, keep my credit card info (in eWallet), and much more.


Also, I'm curious about the functionality of the Pocket programs (Word, Excel), and how useful easy they are to use.

Pocket Word and Excel are pretty good. One caveat is that you should not try editing moderately complex documents in Pocket Word that came from your main PC -- the formatting can get lost (the words will be there, but styles, fonts and tables won't be).


Also, I like to jot notes down to myself in meetings or just other brainstorming things, how's the Pocket PC for stuff like that?

I don't use my iPAQ much for taking notes, but for brainstorming, check out Pocket Mindmap (http://www.pocketmindmap.com). I haven't used it, but I've read good things about it.

Steve